Sanitary frostproof hydrant



Jani z3, 1962 F. c. PAPAcl-:K

SANITARY FROSTPROOF HYDRANT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 11, 1959 INVENToR. FRANK C; PAPACEK Arron/5v5.

Jan. 23, 1962 F. c. PAPAcEK .3,017,896

SANITARY FROSTPROOF HYDRANT Filed May 11, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTORA/Evs.

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This invention relates generally to iiuid handling and to hydrants of the kind intended for protection against freezing. Such hydrants are commonly referred to as of the frostproof type. The invention is particularly adapted for use in and around railway yards for supplying passenger cars and diners with fresh potable Water. It is also adapted for supplying Water in many other locations which are subject to freezing conditions, such as at truck terminals, bus terminals, airports, parks, stockyards, cemeteries, fairgrounds, farms and general establishments, and others.

Heretofore, hydrants of the so-called frostproof type have not been altogether satisfactory for reasons, among others, that they inherently function in a manner such as to be susceptible to contamination of the water and also they do not always prevent freezing. Furthermore, some prior lhydrants involve extraneous and complicated mechanisms which are not only costly to manufacture and maintain but they do not function satisfactorily under the varying and sometimes severe conditions of use.

My invention contemplates, therefore, and h-as as its main object, to provide an improved hydrant of the character described which will be sanitary in the sense that it will deliver clean potable water at any time of the year and under the widely varying conditions under which such hydrants are intended for use. In furtherance of this general object I have provided a hydrant characterized by a unitary structure in which the operating parts and particularly those encased within the portion of the unit which is buried in the ground, are sealed against egress or ingress of water so as to prevent contamination of the Water to be delivered for use, and further characterized by novel means for preventing freezing of the water which usually remains in the upper part of a hydrant after the supply has been shut off and which ordinarily would be subject to freezing.

More particularly my invention contemplates in a preferred embodiment, a unitary assembly in which the operating parts are housed within an elongated casing provided at its buried end with a Water reservoir and a water supply inlet and at its end above the ground with a water delivery nozzle, a conduit within the casing connecting the water supply inlet and the delivery nozzle having a valve in its lower portion below the `frost-line for closing and opening the water supply, means for draining into the reservoir any residue water accumulated in the water supply line above the valve lafter the valve has been moved to the closed position, and hydraulically operating means for automatically drawing water from the reservoir into the water supply iiow when water is being drawn from the nozzle. In this preferred embodiment the hydraulically operating means includes an ejector in the supply line just above the shut-off valve. v

Another feature of my invention is the novel design and arrangement of the operating parts in a unit of assembly consisting of the water supply conduit, the valve and the ejector means together with the delivery nozzle, all of which move -as a unit in closing and opening the valve. These features make for efficient operation in performance of the intended functions and also they permit of manufacture at a comparatively low cost. Furthermore, they permit of quick and easy removal, inspection, and replacement of the valve element which may become worn aft'er long usage.

Other objects and attendant advantages will be appreciated by those skilled in this art as the invention be- Blb Patented Jan. 23, 1962 comes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal section through a sanitary frostproof hydrant embodying my invention, showing the parts in position with the water shut off;

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are enlarged cross-sections taken substantially on the section lines 2-2, 3-3 and 4 4, respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are enlarged longitudinal sections through the hydrant of the upper and lower portions thereof, showing the parts in a position occupied when the valve has been opened and water is being delivered through the hydrant;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section taken substantially on section line 6 6 of FfG. 5B;

FlG. 7 is a detail section showing a modified application of check valve at the top of the standpipe conduit;

FIG. 8 is a detail section showing a modified application of check valve in connection with the ejector suc tion tube; and

FlG. 9 is a detail section showing a modified application of air check valve at the upper end of the standpipe conduit.

These drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention particularly adapted for use in and around railroad yards for supplying passenger cars and diners with fresh potable water and also supplying water for other uses. The hydrant is a unit of assembly made in different lengths depending on the conditions at the place of intended use. Certain health and sanitation codes specify that the tip of the water delivery nozzle must be a minimum of 30 above the ground level. The hydrant unit is of such length that the valve mechanism is located below the frost-line. Because of varying climatic conditions I have found it advisable Where the hydrant is intended for use in railroad yards, to make the unit in different lengths to permit what is commonly known as bury to 3', 4 and 5' below the ground level.

in this embodiment the device consists of a tubular casing designated generally by 11, to the lower end of which is attached a water reservoir 12, an upper casing l5, a cap 142 enclosing the top of the upper casing, a water supply pipe 15 connected to the reservoir, a water i elivery nozzle 16, a water conduit or standpipe designated generally by 17 located within the casing 11 and having communication at its lower end with the supply pipe 15 and at its upper end with the nozzle 16, and a handle 18 operated to cause movement of the conduit 17 upwardly in the casing to unseat a valve 19 to open the water supply to the nozzle and in a downward direction to close the valve and shut off the water supply. Water from the supply pipe 1S flows through a passage 21 in this instance integral with the reservoir 12 and then upwardly through an upstanding passage or stem 22. This stem is a fixed conduit threaded at its lower end into the reserwoir and having at its upper end a valve seat 23 in which the valve 19 seats. The lower end of the conduit 17 has a valve body 24 which telescopes o-ver the upstanding stem 22 and carries a ring seal 25 which provides a water-tight seal between the telescoping parts 22 and 24. The peripheral surface of the stem 22 is provided with one or more longitudinal channels 26 which as shown in FIG. 1 extend from a point beneath the seal 25 to a point above such seal when the valve is seated, for the purpose of allowing Water within the conduit 17 to drain down past the valve and into the reservoir. The purpose of this drainage is to withdraw from the upper structure any residue water which remains in the conduit 17 after the supply water has been shut off by closing the valve 19. This draining function will be referred to more in detail hereafter but it may be noted that in draining, the water llows through openings 27 around the valve 19, a clearance opening between the upper end of the stem 22 and the casing 24, thence to the channels 26, and inally -through the large opening 28 which extends almost entirely around the supply conduit 21, and thence into the reservoir 12. An ejector nozzle body 29 is threaded into the upper end of the valve body 24 and provides an ejector nozzle 31. The venturi body part 32 of the ejector is threaded into the upper end of the nozzle part 29 and is suitably joined as by a coupling 33 to the tubular conduit 34 of the conduit unit. A valve body 35 threads onto the upper end of the conduit 34 and houses a check valve 36 which is normally held slightly open by a compression spring 37. To this valve body 35 is threaded a coupling body 38 into which is threaded a nozzlecarrying body 39. The inner end of the nozzle 16 is threaded into this body 39, the latter providing an elbow connection between the nozzle and the interior of the conduit 17. The body 39 has an upstanding pin 41 which serves as a pilot guide for a compression spring 42 which acts between the cap 14 and a locking plate 43 to normally press the entire conduit unit 17 downwardly to hold the valve 19 in the closed position shown in FIG. 1. The conduit unit may be raised to open the valve 19 by operation of the handle 18 through the intermediary of a cam member `44. This cam member has a cylindrical body mounted in a bearing extension 45 on the upper casing part 13. The handle 18 is suitably xed to the outer end of this cam member 44 which at its inner end is provided with a flat face cam member 46 which engages a at abutment 47 on the nozzle-carrying body. Slight clearance is provided between -the parts 46-47 to insure seating of the valve 19 in response to the pressure or spring 42 when the handle 18 is in the valve closing position. A sealing ring 48 prevents water leakage into the casing 11 which might contaminate the water supply. A retaining screw 49 engages in a groove in the cam member to hold this member against displacement from its operating position. The upper casing body 13 is provided with a vertical elongated opening 53 to allow for the vertical movement of the nozzle when the handle is operated to open and close the valve 19. A ange S4 on the nozzle overreaches and covers this opening 53 to prevent the ingress of foreign matter. This opening 53 is further sealed by a shield 55 of neoprene or other suitable material. The cap 14 is removably secured in position by suitable clamping bolts 56. The ejector body 29 has a passage opening 57 in one side providing communication between the ejector passage and a chamber 58 for a check valve 59.

This check valve normally closes a passage connecting to a suction tube 61 which leads to a low point in the reservoir 10. An air check valve 62 applied to the conduit 17 near its upper end is normally closed against ow of air or water from the conduit at this point but permits intake of air to allow lfor drainage of water into the reservoir.

Operation of the hydrant is as follows: Assuming water is being supplied under pressure through the pipe 1S and the handle 18 is in the upright position the parts will be in the position shown in FIG. 1 with the valve 19 seated and shutting off the ow o-f supply water to the conduit 17 and consequently to the delivery nozzle. It will be observed that in this condition the spring 42 exerts pressure downwardly against the conduit unit so that the entire unit is urged downwardly and holds the valve 19 in the closed position. The parts will remain in this position until it is desired to draw water through the delivery nozzle. To this end the operator will move the hand valve 18 ninety degrees in either direction, thereby moving the cam member 46 which acts against the abutment 47 and moves the entire conduit unit upwardly within the casing 11 against the pressure of the spring 42 and thereby moving the valve 19 to the open position as shown in FIG. B. Supply water will now flow under pressure upwardly past the valve 19, through the ejector nozzle 31 upwardly through the conduit 17, and through the delivery nozzle. In this flow the water further opens the check valve '36 (which normally is held slightly open by the spring 37) and flows freely past this valve. This ow of supply water produces a suction in the tube 61 by reason of the ejector action and draws from the reservoir water which may have drained into this reservoir from within the standpipe conduit 17, as presently noted. Such drainage of water occurs after the handle 18 has been moved back to the valve-closing position. With the valve 19 closed the water supply flow through the conduit 17 is shut olf and there will be residue water in this conduit above the valve 19. This residue water will then llow by gravity down through the conduit 17, the drain channels 26 and opening 28 into the reservoir 12. The air valve 62 breaks the vacuum effect within the conduit and allows this water to drain out. The check valve 36 being normally slightly open allows drainage from the nozzle area of the conduit. Thus after each operation of delivering water through the nozzle and after shutting of the water supply, all residue water in the standpipe conduit and all water above the frost-line will drain into the reservoir. Since the valve mechanism is located well beneath the frost-line the residue water in the area of this mechanism will drain off into the reservoir. It will be apparent, therefore, that this construction positively prevents the accumulation of any residue water which could be subject to freezing. Also it will be apparent that the hydrant structure is entirely sealed against ingress or egress of water so that there is no danger of contaminating the supply water by the influence of water or moisture conditions surrounding the hydrant.

In FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 I have shown some modifications which may be advantageously used. FIG. 7 shows a normally closed check valve 63 applied at the inner end 64 of the nozzle 16. This check valve takes the place of the first described check valve 36. It will be observed that lthe check valve 63 is so arranged as to positively close the water supply passage when the valve 19 is closed and that it causes residue Water to drain out both through the nozzle outlet or back down through the water supply conduit. When this check valve 63 is used I prefer to substitute for the air check valve 62 a similar air check valve 65 at the highest point in the standpipe conduit. This may be done by boring the spring guide 41 and applying the air check valve 65 at the upper end of this guide connecting with the bore as shown in FIG. 9. Another modification consists in substituting for the check valve 59 a foot valve 66 applied to the lower end of a suction tube 67 which takes the place of the suction tube 61, as shown in FIG. 8. In this case the suction tube 67 may be threaded at its upper end directly into the ejector body 29 so as to communicate with the passage 57. The foot valve 56 may be of any suitable form and I have shown a at disc type valve member adapted to seat at 68 and having a depending guide stem 69 which is slotted diametrically at 71 sufficiently lengthwise of the stem to provide for passage of water from the pipe 67 into the `reservoir when the conduit 17 is in the lower position with the valve 19 closed. In this position the stem 69 engages the bottom of the reservoir and holds the valve 66 in the open position, allowing drainage of the residue water from the conduit 17 directly through the tube 67 and into the reservoir. By using this modification the drain grooves or channels 26 above described may be dispensed with because the drainage is through the pipe 67. This method of draining the residue water promotes greater life for the sealing ring 25 because by eliminating the drain grooves 26 the sealing ring operates against a. smooth peripheral surface on the upstanding stem 22 rather than moving up and down along the grooves 26 with consequent wear of the groove edges against the sealing ring.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the entire hydrant structure is a unitary assembly having all its components enclosed against contamination of the Water to be delivered. The enclosing structure prevents leakage to the surrounding earth and it also prevents any seepage into the structure or any of its working parts. This makes for sanitation and insures the delivery of fresh potable water. The provision of a Water reservoir at the bottom together with means for draining water into the reservoir from the standpipe conduit and upper structure, and means for automatically drawing water from the reservoir back into the supply flow insures against freezing of water in the parts above the frost-line. This is highly desirable because hydrants are used for delivering water in every kind of climatic conditions, some of them very severe in the cold seasons. The novel combination of parts performing these functions is particularly desirable because of the general simplicity of construction and the manner in which the parts function. This construction makes for dependability of operation and it also promotes long life. lt is appreciated that valve members which seat and unseat eventually become worn and must be replaced. With my invention the valve member 19 may be quickly and easily removed bya single workman. To do this the workman removes the conduit unit which carries the valve member and this gives access to the valve member for replacement thereof. Thus the servicing of the hydrant is reduced to a minimum. The supplying of fresh potable Water at all times is also highly desirable because invariably these hydrants are used to supply water where the public needs are involved, either to passengers and workmen in connection with railroad needs or in public places where local or other government uses are involved, thus insuring against liability from damage claims.

It is believed that the foregoing conveys a clear understanding of my invention and it will be understood that in putting the invention into commercial use, changes may be made in details of construction and in the use of equivalent means without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim, in which:

I claim:

A sanitary frostproof hydrant comprising, in combination, an outer casing having a water supply end for burying in the ground beneath the frost-line and a delivery end above the ground, a conduit within the casing movable axially therein, a water supply conduit in the lower end portion of the casing having a delivery end upstanding therein and terminating in a valve seat, said conduit having its lower end telescoping over said upstanding delivery end and equipped with a water seal acting against the peripheral surface of said delivery end, a water delivery nozzle connected to the upper end of the conduit, means operable for lowering and raising the conduit relatively in the casing, a valve member fixed within the conduit above said water seal and coacting with said valve seat to close and open the ow of water from said upstanding delivery end into the conduit by lowering and raising said conduit, a water reservoir at the lower end of the casing beneath said upstanding delivery end, means providing communication between interior of the conduit and the reservoir for drainage of water from the former into the latter, the reservoir being of a capacity to hold the full drainage of water from within the conduit after the valve has been seated, said communication being constructed and arranged so that said valve and seal will be located substantially above the reservoir when the reservoir is lled to capacity, and ejector means including an ejector nozzle within the casing above the valve member and means providing a conduit communication between the suction end of the ejector nozzle and the bottom of the reservoir and including valve means for allowing ilow of water upwardly through the last named conduit from the reservoir to the ejector when the first mentioned conduit is raised to open 4the valve and prevent ow of water downwardly through said last named conduit when lthe valve is closed, whereby all the drainage water is retained within the reservoir beneath the water seal and such drainage water is withdrawn from the reservoir through the ejectorreservoir conduit by action of the ejector and delivered into the Water supply flow when the valve is opened.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 174,181 Bailey Feb. 29, 1876 196,384 Porteous Oct. 23, 1877 546,075 Murdock Sept, 10, 1895 2,664,096 Murdock Dec. 29, 1953 

